JADEITE - Canadian Institute of Gemmology

62
lapidaries from Beijing and Shanghai fled to Hong Kong following the communist seizure of
power in China. Within China itself the new communist rulers left little room for commerce in such
decadent luxuries as jadeite.
Hughes, Galibert, et al (2000: 5, 8) mention that "jadeite auctions were organized in [Hong
Kong] hotels such as the four-story Tai Tung Hotel... Starting in 1967, auctions were organized by
the Hong Kong Jewellery and Jade Manufacturers Association (formerly Hong Kong Jade and
Stone Manufacturers Association). Some idea about how the market worked at this time is provided
by V.B Meen (1962, 1963) who visited Burma and Hong Kong in 1960 with Martin Ehrmann (see
Smith and Smith 1994 on Ehrmann). The account by Meen includes a description of jadeite mining
in Burma as well as the jadeite market in Hong Kong. In Mogaung Meen was the guest of Li San
Chiek "the big jade dealer in the area" (1962: 819, 1963: 19) From Mogaung Meen visited the
mining sites around Hpakan and he describes a number of mining sites. He then discusses the
marketing of rough jadeite. He notes that while sometimes jadeite roughs are auctioned in
Mogaung, "most of the jade boulders are shipped to Hong Kong for cutting and carving and most
auctions take place there" (1962: 835, 1963: 23). Meen (1962: 835, 1963: 23) describes a typical
Hong Kong auction:
A jade auction is unlike anything I had ever witnessed before. The dealer had taken rooms
in a Chinese hotel in Hong Kong and there, the various pieces of jade rough were displayed
in what I would consider relatively poor light... these boulders were of various sizes and had
various number of windows cut in them. Only occasionally was a small boulder broken to
expose a fresh face... Represented in the lot might be jades in several shades of green,
mauve, and brown in a considerable variety of quality. Prospective buyers inspected the
boulders and then retired to a group of larger rooms, reserved for the purpose, and there
waited for the auction to begin.
Presently, the auctioneers appeared and placed a boulder on the table... He gave the number
of the specimen and a brief description of its appearance... Then he gave the price the owner
was asking for it. Remember that this was probably many times what the owner really
expected to get. Then the auctioneer draped a towel over his hand and walked through the
group. If somebody wished to bid, he attracted the auctioneer's attention and they clasped
hands under the towel. By appropriate pressures on the auctioneer's fingers, the bidder
indicated his offer. Each bidder, in turn, did this until all had been taken care of. Then, the
auctioneer went to the owner, who all this time was seated in his rooms with his stock of
jades. If the owner did not accept the highest bid, the auctioneer returned... and started
taking new bids... Eventually, of course, the sale is made or the piece is withdrawn by the
owner and then a new one is offered for sale.
Ng and Root (1984: 23) provide photographs illustrating these finger signs. One of the advantages
of this system for the buyer is that it keeps others from knowing what he paid for the stone.
The jadeite market suffered from another disruption in the early 1960s as a result of the
military takeover in Burma in 1962. Gübelin (1964-65a: 229-30) visited the area in March 1963:
"The Burmese Government, under General Ne Win,... had issued a new decree to outlaw the
Chinese owners of jade mines; many jade traders had left, Mogaung was disturbingly quiet,